


Smooth Criminal

by starswingsandthings



Category: Deception (TV 2018)
Genre: Car Chase, F/M, FBI, Murder, Old Friends, Psychological Torture, Will add more as it progresses - Freeform, Wrongful Imprisonment, daring rescues, ignoring the horror that is Transposition, old enemies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-07-25 02:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16188653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starswingsandthings/pseuds/starswingsandthings
Summary: "It's all fun and games 'til someone ends up on the floor with a knife in their neck."When a girl is fatally stabbed in a nightclub bathroom and an old friend is charged with her murder, the Black twins find themselves in a race against time to prove their friend's innocence.But, like all good magic tricks, there's more to this than meets the eye.[slight AU]





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Red

**Prometheus Nightclub, New York**

_“Hang on,” she hiccuped, pushing the other girl away from where she was leaving drunken kisses on the first girl's neck. “I'll be back in a minute.”_

_Her words were slurred, and when she stood up she immediately collapsed back against the bar. The two of them burst into high-pitched giggles._

_The first girl, the blonde, stood up again and, still swaying, made her way through the packed club, muttering apologies as she bumped in dancing, drunken bodies._

_T_ _he bathroom door was shut when she reached it. Still giggling softly, she knocked on the door._

_When there was no response for a minute or two, she pushed down on the handle, testing if it was locked._

_The door swung open and she lurched inside._

_The first thing she registered was the_ **red** _._

_A harsh red blur across the mirror and on the walls and a pool on the floor._

_And there were two figures in the centre of it._

_One was pale and unmoving, starting at the ceiling with lightless eyes. The red was on her, on her neck and her cheek and her chest, and through it a knife glittered. A towel was pressed to her neck, and it was so soaked that its true colour was gone, eclipsed by that horrible red._

_The second figure was almost as pale, but she was still moving. Her hands were shaking and she was crying and covered in the red too._

_The girl's scream was smothered by the thumping bass on the dance floor._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 

> In which Cameron did not get enough sleep or coffee and there is too much blood 

 

The sharp trill of a ringing phone startled Cameron Black into some semblance of being awake. Still half asleep, he fumbled across his nightstand for the source of the noise. Finally finding it, he grabbed it, squinting at the caller ID.

_Kay Daniels._

Semi-reluctantly, he answered.

“Mmm?” It was more of a groan than an actual word.

“Cameron. You need to get here, _now._ ” Kay seemed remarkably alert for 2.13 in the morning.

Cameron scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to rouse himself more fully.

“Whassa matter, Kay? It's 2 am.”

“I'll fill you in when you get here.” As she spoke, a car purred to a stop outside his apartment.

Cameron groaned internally. Any chance of more sleep had just executed a perfect swan dive out the window.

“Ok,” He groaned, throwing back the covers and sitting up. “I'm on my way.”

 

-

 

Cameron arrived at the crime scene feeling slightly more alert, a cup of coffee in one hand. It had taken almost ten minutes to persuade the FBI driver to stop for coffee, but, Cameron thought, taking another sip, it was worth it.

Kay met him in front of the police tape, with gloves already on and her hair tied back in a ponytail.

The flickering lights of the police cars cast bizarre shadows on her face and Cameron found himself strangely fascinated, watching them flicker.

“...warned, it's not pretty.”

“I'm sorry, what?” Cameron had been so taken with the flickering lights he hadn't realised Kay was talking.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Holding up the police tape for Cameron to duck under, she repeated, “You need to see this, but be warned, it's not pretty.”

Cameron followed her back towards the nightclub, almost jogging to keep up with her determined strides.

“So, what exactly-”

“A girl was found in the nightclub bathroom with a knife sticking out of her neck.”

“Ah. Do they have any suspects?” Cameron finished his coffee in a single gulp and handed the now-empty cup to an FBI officer as they passed.

“They think they have the murderer. She’s claiming innocence, of course.” Kay replied, pushing the nightclub door open and holding it for Cameron to pass.

“If they think they have the murderer, what are we doing here?”

Kay didn't respond, she just led Cameron through the cop-filled nightclub into a small, grimy bathroom.

Cameron thought he was going to be sick.

Spreadeagled on the floor, staring at the ceiling with blank green eyes, was a short, stocky girl with curly red hair, freckles and a knife handle protruding from her neck. Because of the low neckline of her top, the point of the knife was visible, puncturing the skin just below her collarbone. He turned, tearing his gaze away from the horrible sight, and caught sight of the writing on the mirror.

Foot-high letters spelled out his name, ‘ **BLACK** ’, in what was almost unmistakably blood, across the bathroom mirror.

He felt the bile rise in his throat and lurched for the door, knocking it open only moments before he was doubled over, heaving his coffee into the gutter.

Once his stomach was well and truly empty and he’d stopped dry-heaving, he straightened, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He heard quick footsteps behind him and turned to see Kay hurrying up to him.

“Cameron! Are you ok?” She placed a hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes with a concerned gaze.  

He nodded, exhaling sharply and straightening his jacket. “Yeah. I’m good.”

Kay dropped her hand and straightened her own jacket uncomfortably, “I’m sorry Cameron, I didn’t think…”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. So,” The two of them started to walk back to the edge of the cordoned-off area around the club. “You said we had a suspect?”

Kay nodded. “She’s already been taken back to FBI headquarters. We can go see her, if you like.” Cameron hesitated for a second, then agreed.

“As long as we can get something to eat on the way there.” He smiled, ignoring the fact that he still felt incredibly queasy.

Kay grinned at him, unlocking her car and climbing in. “You’re such an idiot. Don’t drop anything in my car!”

He laughed as he got into the car.

“So,” The engine came to life with a low growl as Kay spoke. “Where do you want to go?”

 

-

 

Twenty-five minutes later, the pair were back at  FBI headquarters with several containers of cheap Chinese takeout and the other Black brother.   

Jonathan had been understandably grumpy at being woken at a quarter past three in the morning, but with the promise of honey chicken and fried rice, he’d agreed to come.

Now, the three of them were kicking back in one of the small lounge areas that were apparently all over the building but the Blacks had never seen.

Jonathan was stretched out on a square black couch, playing with a deck of cards. Two containers sat on the floor next to the couch. Up until about two minutes ago, they’d been full of honey chicken and fried rice, respectively, but Jonathan had devoured both them in about ten minutes and then proceeded to eat half of Cameron’s noodles. He tried to take some of Kay’s pork ribs, but she threatened to break his wrist, so he wisely left her alone.

No one had been particularly eager to actually speak to the suspect - Cameron was still feeling unwell, and the thought of speaking to the person that had done that made his stomach start curling again, Kay’s lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with her and Jonathan really wanted to be home in bed - so when Deakins had informed them that they had to sort a few things out and ‘get her cleaned up a bit’, no one had protested. Cameron looked like he was dozing off in the armchair, his head tilted back and his eyes half-closed. Kay was curled up in the other chair, and she was definitely dozing off, her head falling forward onto her chest.

There was a tentative knock from the doorway and Jonathan sighed softly, lifting his upper body off the couch and twisting to see a skinny young guy with big brown eyes standing in the doorway. He looked like the kind of person that would be sent on coffee runs by every other agent in the building.   

“Deakins said you can talk to the suspect now.” He nodded, looking mildly pleased with himself, then backed out of the doorway and disappeared.

Jonathan sighed and sat up, tousling his hair with one hand and grabbing his jacket with the other.

“Hey. Kay, Cameron,” The two started awake instantly, Cameron nearly falling off his chair. “Deakins has cleared us to talk with the suspect.”

They stared at him for a second, their brains struggling to compute. Then Kay gasped and jumped to her feet. “C’mon Cameron.”

He followed, still slightly groggy, and Jonathan took up the rear, pulling the door closed behind him.

Neither Black paid any attention to where they were walking, simply following Kay. Soon, they were outside the holding cell.

“Now you two, behave,” Deakins said to the boys, then she turned to Kay. “We’re pretty sure she's in shock, so try not to do anything to upset her.” Kay nodded and pushed the door open, and the three of them filed in.

The girl had her head in her hands, but when she heard the door open she jerked it up.

The had a nice face, a sweet face. Not the kind you would expect from a murderer.

A small straight nose, small round lips, a slight blush to her cheeks. Her eyes were icy blue, but warm, despite being filled with tears that were threatening to fall at any minute. Short white-blonde hair, snakebites and a bar in her eyebrow gave her a strange sort of warrior/little girl vibe.

Cameron and Jonathan froze as soon as she lifted her head.

She looked very different from the last time they’d seen her - her hair was brown then, and the piercings were new - but there was no doubt in either brother's mind that the girl sitting across from them was Ruby Milligan.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

In which there are small children, playing cards and an easter egg

  
  


Eight-year-old Cameron didn't seem to have the capacity to sit still for longer than two minutes, so he was now clambering through the branches of a truly massive oak tree, while Johnny and Ruby sat cross-legged underneath it.   
  
Jonathan frowned in concentration as he shuffled a battered-looking deck of playing cards, before fanning them out and offering them to Ruby. She took one, slowly, making sure he couldn't see it before quickly memorizing it.    
  
"Ok," Johnathan held the deck out again. "Put it back in the deck. Wherever you like."    
  
Ruby slipped the card neatly back into a gap in the cards. Jonathan nodded, retracted the deck and reformed it into a neater shape before flipping it over and scanning through the cards hurriedly.    
  
After a few seconds, he stopped and flicked back a couple of cards.   
  
"Was this your card?" He held up the jack of hearts, and Ruby's mouth fell open as she nodded vigorously.    
  
"Really?" Johnny had to admit, he didn't think he'd be able to do it. Ruby nodded again, still grinning.    
  
From way above them, Cameron called down, "Hey Johnny, d'you reckon if I jumped from here I'd make it to that pond?"    
  
Instantly, Jonathan jumped to his feet. "If you jump, Cam, you're gonna hurt yourself, and Dad'll get mad."

Cameron sighed, the sound barely audible over the rustling leaves. "Johnny, you're no fun." 

"Come on, Cam." Ruby spoke this time, her British accent almost making the words difficult to understand. "Let's go back to mine and watch a movie or something."

At that, the young magician jumped out of the tree, landing clumsily next to Jonathan. “Can I pick?”

“If you make us watch Scooby-Doo again I will kick you,” Ruby laughed, linking her arms with the two boys’ and starting to pull them after her.

Cam bounded in front of her, dropping their elbows, while Jonny stuck to her side, smiling softly.

The tree they'd been playing at was at the edge of a large park, complete with a carousel. As they crossed the park, Ruby dragged Jonathan over to the carousel, but not to ride it. Just outside the entrance was a tall, narrow tree that had been cut neatly in half, revealing a hollow that had been filled with glass. And encased in the glass was a playing card, the Jack of Spades.

Jonathan scuffed at the ground with his shoe, clearing the dirt away from a small brass plaque set near the base of the tree.

“Why do we come here every time?” He said quietly.

“Because,” Ruby said, smiling broadly, “It’s cool.” 

Cameron appeared at her elbow. “It's just a playing card in glass in a tree.” 

She turned to him, almost exasperated. “Yes but-” She paused and tilted her head to one side. “Don't you know the story?”

Both boys shook their heads.

“Ok, well the story is that this magician, Lionel Shrike, went up to the carousel worker, performed a trick and asked him to sign the card. No big deal, the guy does it and Shrike leaves. Then like twenty years later, Shrike returns and does the trick again, and then he cuts the tree in half and…” She gestured to the entombed card.

“Huh,” Cameron said, looking at the tree with newfound respect. 

Jonathan tugged slightly on Ruby's arm. “We need to get back. It looks like its gonna rain.” 

Ruby looked up, following Jonathan’s gaze up to the stormy sky. 

“Yeah, let’s head home.” She agreed, dragging Cameron away by the collar of his jacket as Jonathan trotted alongside. Cameron slipped out of the jacket to walk amiably beside her, taking the heavy windbreaker back again at her insistence.

Just as the three of them rounded the corner onto Ruby’s street, the rain started to pour. 

The three of them shrieked, almost in unison, and ran for Ruby’s house, laughing as the rain ran down their shirts and plastered their hair to their heads. 

Until Ruby tripped.

She went down before either boy could catch her, sprawling forward on the pavement and there was a loud, too-loud, crack and she screamed.

“Ruby!” Jonathan exclaimed, stopping instantly and turning to run back to her, Cameron barely a second behind him. “What happened?”

The only clue she was crying was her hitching breaths, as the raindrops on her cheeks mingled with the tears, camouflaging them perfectly. “My ankle…” Instantly, both boys looked to her foot as she pulled herself into a sitting position, gingerly lifting her foot out of the shallow hole she’d stepped into.

There was no mistaking that something was broken. Ruby’s foot was almost completely flat to the ground and already her ankle was starting to swell.

“C’mon, we’re almost home. Here, take my jacket,” Jonathan shrugged his way out of his parka, his shirt almost instantly getting soaked through. Ruby took it gratefully, and the boys each wrapped a hand around her upper arms and pulled her upright, wrapping her arms quickly around their shoulders to keep her almost-standing.

The three of them limped home as fast as they could, the boys practically carrying Ruby, and as soon as they got inside they set her down on a couch. Jonathan ran to get something cold, returning a moment later with a bag of frozen peas, while Cameron ran up the curving staircase to find Mrs Milligan.

“Is it that ok?” Jonathan asked, pressing the cold bag to Ruby’s ankle. She gasped in pain at both the touch and the temperature, stiffening, but then she nodded.

“o get...a towel. You’re going t-to get sick,” Ruby muttered, her face pale, looking like she was about to scream again. Jonathan shook his head hurriedly, flicking a couple of drops of water onto Ruby’s face.

“Not till C-c-am comes back. I’m n-n-ot leaving y-y-you when you’re h-hurt.” The sentence was mangled slightly by the fact his teeth had started chattering.

“Mkay,” Ruby murmured, and just like that, she was asleep.

Or she may have passed out, Jonathan couldn’t tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my pretties! I'm so sorry for the hiatus, but now I'm back and (hopefully) bigger and better than before!  
> Feel free to yell at me for disappearing, I crave human contact.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

In which Ruby yells at Kay and has a breakdown and Jonathan yells at the entire FBI

 

“Jonathan? Cameron?”

Now, thirty-something year old Ruby stood up quickly, knocking her chair over backwards. Kay, already tense from lack of sleep and early-morning murders, jumped back, drawing her gun.

Ruby raised her hands quickly, making her handcuffs rattle, and froze in place. “Sorry, I just...boys?” 

Neither Black had moved since they entered, and Kay turned to them. “You know her?”

Cameron nodded, still dumbstruck, as Jonathan muttered agreement. 

“Take a seat, Miss Milligan,” Kay gestured with one hand to the overturned chair, returning her gun to its holster with the other. 

“O-oh, sorry. Yeah, I'll just- oh, damn.” The short chain on her handcuffs prevented her from reaching her chair to pick it up.

“Give me your wrists. Jonathan, Cameron, give us the room.” Kay instructed as the Blacks left, heading into the room on the other side of the two-way glass. Ruby held her cuffed wrists and Kay unlocked them, letting them clatter to the table then slide off. Ruby corrected her chair and sat down, nervously playing with her fringe.

“Now, Miss Milligan-”

“Call me Ruby, please,” Ruby cut Kay off. Her eyes were filling with tears again. 

“Ruby. I’m Agent Daniels,” Kay didn't miss a beat. “I need to ask you a few questions about Clementine Jones’ murder.”

Ruby, nodded, swallowing hard and wiping at the few tears running down her cheeks as she sat up straighter and scooched her chair closer to the table.

"So, you and Clementine-”

Ruby interrupted the agent by loudly and suddenly bursting into tears.

She slumped forward, burying her face in her arms as she began to cry, huge, racking sobs that shook her shoulders with the violence of a terrier worrying a rat. 

“Ruby? What’s wrong?”

“It...it was her  _ birthday _ . It was her  _ birthday _ , and now she’s lying on an autopsy slab somewhere with a knife through her throat! And everyone thinks I did it!” Ruby’s head whipped up, and there was cold fire in her eyes, boiling the tears away.

“Ruby, your prints were on the kni-”

“You know what else my prints would have been on?” Ruby was on her feet again, and part of her brain was screaming at her to sit down, to stop yelling at a goddamn FBI agent, but she ignored it. “The towel I held against her throat as she choked to death on her own blood.” She was calming down now, and her voice was getting lower again. “Agent Daniels, one of my best friends died in my arms. Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m lying when I say,  _ I didn’t do it. _ ”

 

-

 

“But, Kay, you know she didn’t do it, right?” Cameron asked, following Kay as she strode towards their central office.

“I know, Cameron. But there’s no evidence that points to anyone else. The only way to get her off is to catch the real killer and have them confess.” Kay’s tone was gentle, and she sighed softly as she sat down at her desk. “I’m sorry, Cam, that’s the way it goes.”

“Ok, then, well...we need to catch this killer and get them to confess. Easy.” Cameron replied, leaning back on Kay’s desk and crossing his arms. Kay sighed again and looked up from the file she was poring over.

“Cameron, as far as the FBI is concerned, this is an open-and-shut case. There’s no real motive, sure, but everything else points to Ruby being the murderer.”

Cameron huffed softly, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the sleeves of his jacket. After a second of apparent deliberation, he pushed off Kay’s desk and walked back out into the main part of the building.

“Cameron?  _ Cameron _ ?” 

“Hey, Kay?” Mike stuck his head around the doorframe, oblivious to any previous interactions. “They just completed the autopsy and they, uh...they found this in the girl's mouth.” He held up a small plastic bag with an ornate silver ring in it, set with a green stone. When the other agent held her hand up, he tossed the bag to her. It landed neatly in Kay’s hand, and she held it closer to her face, scrutinizing it intensely. 

“Got any idea what it might be?” Mike had entered the office, studying the ring over her shoulder. 

“No,” Kay shook her head, setting the ring down on the desk and pulling out a manilla folder from her drawer. “I'll have to talk to Ruby about-” Her sentence was interrupted by a massive yawn, and she suddenly realised how tired she was. Mike carefully removed the folder from her hands.

“Go home, Kay. Get some rest. If anything major happens, I'll call you.”

Kay almost wanted to protest but she couldn't find it in her, so she simply nodded, grabbed her bag and her keys and walked out.

“Don't drive!” Mike called after her. “Get a taxi, please!”

 

-

 

“So, how are you, Ruby?”

Ruby raised an eyebrow at Jonathan, who was sitting across from her, playing with a tarnished silver coin.

“Oh, I’m great. Accused of murdering my best friend and handcuffed to a table in an FBI interview room with almost no chance of getting off these charges. I’m absolutely fan-fucking-tastic, Jonathan.”

The magician nodded, conceding the point.

“Dumb question-”

“Yeah, it was.” Her voice softened and she smiled slowly. “But other than that, I’m good. Dad’s moved to Maine, I still see him all the-”

She was cut off by the door opening and Cameron bursting in, hair a rumpled mess as usual. Jonathan twisted to face his brother, cocking his head questioningly.

“I just spoke to Kay. She said as far as the FBI is concerned, this is an open-and-shut case, and the only way to get Ruby off is to catch the real killer and have them confess.” Cameron was practically wincing by the time he reached the end of the sentence.

“And as the FBI thinks its an open-and-shut case, that’s unlikely to happen.” Ruby finished, sounding resigned. “Looks like I’m goin’ to jail.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Jonathan’s voice was low and there was an almost dangerous note to it.

“But the FBI-”

“Screw the FBI!” Jonathan cut his brother off, jumping to his feet. “If they’re not going to catch the real killer, then we will.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

In which it is decided that Cameron is not hot enough for Angelina Jolie 

 

 

The ride home was tense and awkward, but certainly not silent.

Kay was driving, as usual, and Cameron was keeping a running commentary on how bad her driving was, to which she replied that he couldn't talk, the one time she’d let him drive he'd nearly crashed the car and when you'd been in too many car chases to count it was hard to drive like a civilian. 

Jonathan sat in the back seat, leaning against the window. His lips twitched in a small smile several times at Kay and Cameron’s conversation, but he didn't say a word for most of the drive back to the Archive.

“Ok, but,” Cameron was still talking. “What if you met one of my ex-girlfriends and she was like… Angelina Jolie?”

Kay threw one hand up in exasperation. “Oh, come on Cameron, be realistic!”

“What, I’m not hot enough for Angelina Jolie?”

Jonathan leant forward between the two front seats. “I’d like to weigh in here: No.”

Cameron threw both his hands in the air and laughed, shoving Jonathan’s shoulder gently with his own.

The older Black brother sat back, grinning broadly, as Kay and Cameron continued to argue, and glanced over to where Ruby was curled against the door with her eyes closed, apparently asleep.

It had, surprisingly, not taken too much persuading on the brothers’ part to convince Kay that Ruby wasn't a flight risk, and that it would be preferable for everyone if she returned to the Archive with them. It had then taken Kay only about 5 minutes of yelling at minor FBI agents and ten minutes of intense discussion with Deakins until Ruby was allowed to leave.

Now, she shifted awkwardly, trying to get comfortable against the hard plastic of the door's interior, and groaned as she stretched her neck. 

Not asleep then.

“Hey, Ruby.” Jonathan said softly. She didn't respond, so he shrugged and went back to gazing out the window. Ruby had been through a lot. If she didn't want to talk, he wouldn't force her.

“Jonathan,” Ruby muttered, shifting again. “Can you please tell your brother to-” She sat bolt upright and slapped the back of Cameron's head just hard enough to prove a point. “ _-shut the_ _hell up_!” 

 

\--

 

Kay's tires crunched on the gravel outside the Archive as she pulled up.

“Right, everyone out. Ruby,” Kay twisted to make eye contact with the young lady. “Until stuff gets sorted out, you can't leave the Archive, okay?”

Ruby nodded once and smiled slightly then clambered out of the car to stand next to Jonathan 

“Welcome to the Archive, Ruby!” Cameron exclaimed, hurrying up the path ahead of them, turning and holding his arms up in a ‘ta-da’ pose.

With a mock sigh Ruby trailed after the two brothers, rolling her eyes at Cameron as he unlocked the front door and led them inside.

While Ruby pretended to be frustrated, she was really anything but. Cameron's familiar, never-ceasing, boisterousness was helping loosen the tight knot of panic and fear that had been tied in her chest since early that morning. Smiling tiredly, she flopped onto the nearest soft furnishing, -- the large couch strategically placed to get just the right view of the TV for horror movie night -- kicked her shoes off and stretched out. Cameron opened his mouth to say something but Jonathan held up a hand quickly. 

“She's had a rough time, Cam. Let her sleep.” 

Indeed, Ruby's eyes were already closed and her breathing was deep and regular. 

“I was just going to offer her somewhere more comfortable to sleep.” Cam whispered back, slightly dejected. 

“Well, she's clearly pretty comfortable there to fall asleep that fast.”

Cameron nodded. “I guess so, yeah.” 

A pause. 

“I'm glad she's back.” Jonathan murmured. “I mean, the circumstances suck, and this was  _ definitely  _ not how I pictured seeing her again, but…” His voice trailed away and Cameron looked over to him, meeting his gaze and smiling softly.

“You know what I'm happiest about right now?” 

Jonathan shook his head, frowning slightly. 

“You're back.” Cameron said simply, before pulling his brother into a tight hug.

Jonathan didn't mention the small tear stains left on his jacket when they broke apart.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters really really short, sorry! Hopefully after this one they'll start getting longer as stuff hits the fan... anyway, enjoy1

 

Chapter 5

In which the breakup is discussed and waffles are consumed in unholy amounts

  
  


The smell of smoke woke Ruby the next morning. 

Starting off the couch, she picked herself up from the floor and padded into what she assumed was the kitchen, as that was where the burning smell was coming from.

She was rather unsurprised to find the source of the smell was Cameron. 

Still in his pyjama pants, the illusionist was wrestling with something that may have once been a pancake, but was now blackened beyond salvation.

“Morning,” Ruby said, not even bothering to disguise the smile in her voice. Cameron turned sharply, and she burst out laughing. 

Ruby had never known someone with such a talent for making a huge mess as Cameron. One of his eyebrows was white with what she assumed was flour, and he looked so stunned to see her standing there it made him look even more ridiculous.

“I wanted to make you breakfast, but, well…” 

The disappointment in his voice stopped Ruby's laughter. “Hey, you tried. That's what counts. Let me see what I can do.” Nudging him aside with her shoulder, she stabbed at the blackened lump of ex-pancake with a spatula several times before recognising defeat and setting the pan aside. 

Cameron smiled and stepped back, content to watch Ruby cook. In a few minutes, she had wiped up the spilt milk and egg and dusted the flour off the countertop, found a waffle press in the back of a cupboard and started heating it and began to fry several rashers of bacon. 

The bacon was spitting and popping loudly as she added more butter to the mostly-unused batter, and the smell was absolutely divine. Cameron didn't think it would be long before the others roused themselves and came for breakfast.

“Hey, what time is it?” Ruby asked suddenly, pouring batter into the waffle press as she did. Cameron, caught off guard, checked his wrist for a non-existent watch before grabbing his phone from the bench and checking it. 

“It's like a quarter past ten.”

“Jeez,” Ruby exclaimed, resting her elbows on the countertop and leaning back. “Where's Johnny got to?” 

With such perfect timing they had to have been waiting outside, Jonathan and Dina walked into the kitchen. Jonathan was wearing a button-up and jeans and Dina, immaculately dressed as always, wore a knee-length sunflower yellow dress and heels, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. 

“Something smells- oh.” The dark-skinned woman stopped, staring at Ruby in surprise. 

Ruby stepped forward and held out a hand, smiling. “Ruby Milligan, cellist and accused murderer at your service.”

Dina blinked several times in confusion before regaining her composure and accepting the handshake with a smile. “Dina Clark. Pleased to meet you.” 

“Ruby's an old friend of ours,” Jonathan explained as Ruby returned to the waffle press, levering the waffles out with a spatula and dropping them onto a plate before refilling the press. She was vaguely aware of Jonathan’s continued introduction, but as the bacon was making noises similar to that of a crate of fireworks going off, she wasn't paying much attention. 

Flipping the bacon with one hand, she slid the plate of waffles down the bench to the others with a quick “Help yourself.”

They did, and Ruby turned away again, discreetly wiping a tear from her eye as she returned to cooking.

It was good to be back.  


End file.
